DocumentDB is Microsoft’s NoSQL database service. NoSQL is an increasingly popular style of database which allows for more flexibility in your data structures and data storage design. As the name implies, DocumentDB can be used to store documents, along with any other type of data you could think of.

Last week, Microsoft rolled out full support for MongoDB applications to use the DocumentDB backend. MongoDB is a popular open-source NoSQL database, and many developers know how to use it. Expanding DocumentDB to work with MongoDB protocols will give open-source developers the opportunity to use Microsoft’s managed data hosting service on the backend with just minor changes to their applications.